An Improved Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment
Abstract
A new measurement of the neutron EDM, using Ramsey's method of separated oscillatory fields, is in preparation at the new high intensity source of ultra-cold neutrons (UCN) at the Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland (PSI). The existence of a non-zero nEDM would violate both parity and time reversal symmetry and, given the CPT theorem, might lead to a discovery of new CP violating mechanisms. Already the current upper limit for the nEDM (|d_n|<2.9E-26 e.cm) constrains some extensions of the Standard Model. The new experiment aims at a two orders of magnitude reduction of the experimental uncertainty, to be achieved mainly by (1) the higher UCN flux provided by the new PSI source, (2) better magnetic field control with improved magnetometry and (3) a double chamber configuration with opposite electric field directions. The first stage of the experiment will use an upgrade of the RAL/Sussex/ILL group's apparatus (which has produced the current best result) moved from Institut Laue-Langevin to PSI. The final accuracy will be achieved in a further step with a new spectrometer, presently in the design phase.
Cite
@article{arxiv.0806.4837,
title = {An Improved Neutron Electric Dipole Moment Experiment},
author = {M. Kuźniak and I. Altarev and G. Ban and G. Bison and K. Bodek and M. Burghoff and M. Daum and K. Eberhardt and P. Fierlinger and E. Gutsmiedl and G. Hampel and W. Heil and R. Henneck and N. Khomutov and K. Kirch and St. Kistryn and S. Knappe-Grueneberg and A. Knecht and P. Knowles and J. V. Kratz and T. Lauer and B. Lauss and T. Lefort and A. Mtchedlishvili and O. Naviliat-Cuncic and S. Paul and A. S. Pazgalev and G. Petzold and C. Plonka-Spehr and G. Quéméner and D. Rebreyend and S. Roccia and G. Rogel and T. Sander-Thoemmes and A. Schnabel and N. Severijns and Yu. Sobolev and R. Stoepler and L. Trahms and M. Tur and A. Weis and N. Wiehl and J. Zejma and G. Zsigmond},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0806.4837},
year = {2008}
}
Comments
Flavor Physics & CP Violation Conference, Taipei, 2008